What She Doesn't Know
by Dixie Darlin
Summary: The truth was, King Candy had no 'favorite racer'...but he had developed a twisted sense of glee in allowing Taffyta to believe otherwise.


_Based on a personal headcanon of mine. First segment takes place in 1997, the other two segments take place in 2012.  
_

* * *

**What She Doesn't Know**

One month.

That's how long **_he_** had been in control of _Sugar Rush_, the newest racing game to grace the arcade with its presence. For approximately ten years, he had scrounged behind the walls of Game Central Station, doing whatever it took to simply _survive_, not to mention pick up some tricks about coding that had come to his extreme advantage once he had entered the candy-coated racing empire.

In one week's time he had ousted a princess, erased any prior knowledge of her, incorporated methods that would ensure that she never be able to reset the game via crossing the finish line (amazing that these fools had accepted his pay-per-play rule so readily), and was now living the easy life inside a castle and _ruling_ over an entire kingdom. It was _his_, all his, and no one could take it from him.

And yet...his mood today was the complete opposite of what one might expect from the _king_ of a place made of candies and sweets.

It had been building for quite some time actually. He had known coming in that he would have to rigorously train himself to race on tracks that involved dangerous obstacles, jumps, power ups, etc. After all, _TurboTime_ had been a simple oval track that simply involved crossing the finish line before the two other racers, both NPCs. _Sugar Rush_ was a completely different story; the racers were all avatars in their own right, and they had the advantage of racing in their own turf. They were programmed to know how to swerve past giant gumballs or jump over large chasms with ease...he was not.

Hours of practice after the arcade had closed was the only way he'd stood a chance in the roster races. For the first week, he hadn't made the roster at all (but thankfully, being king, he'd made it to where he'd had infinite gold coins to pay with so that he could enter them regardless), but now after another three weeks of self-motivated training, he had finally begun to work his way up into eighth place...his highest ranking place this whole month.

And who had been in first place this entire time, gracing herself along the racetracks with all the ease of a well-oiled machine? Not even breaking a sweat? Who had been selected as the most popular avatar for the gamers to play as? Who had been stealing away all the victory that _he_ so rightly deserved, that _he _had worked so hard for? Who was earning all the popularity and love and respect that he had known once upon a time, and that he should be earning for himself _right now_?

_Taffyta Muttonfudge_.

Oh how he hated her. Her flashing grin, her stupid and very unoriginal catchphrase ('Stay Sweet'? How generic! Nothing at all like 'Turbo-Tastic'!), the way she sauntered about the racetrack like she was the _queen_, that infuriating lollipop of hers that she constantly had in her mouth (he wanted nothing more than to _slap_ it away from her), the way she flaunted her trophy when she won a race or how she bragged about getting chosen by a gamer…everything about her made his code boil with rage.

Vanellope...he hated her because she had not been deleted like he'd thought she'd have been when he ripped out her code from the rest of the game. She was a constant reminder of his failure to properly cover his bases; now it was too late to kill her since it was impossible for her to physically leave the game, which he would have to do in order to permanently get rid of her. Taffyta...he hated _her_ because she had stolen what was his the entire time, before he had ever set foot in this accursed cavity-inflicted world...his status as the _best_ racer _ever_.

He needed to get back at her for this crime she had unknowingly committed. The question was _how_. Killing her was out of the question or even turning her into a glitch like that _princess_; it would be too suspicious for an already popular racer like Taffyta to disappear entirely. Vanellope hadn't had a chance to become popular yet, so the gamers hadn't noticed her missing, nor had Litwak. Also, the idea of painstakingly removing everyone's memories of Taffyta ever having been a racer to begin with was a daunting task that he did not feel up to taking. Having done it with Vanellope's memories had been difficult in itself.

_Memories..._

King Candy furrowed a brow as he pondered on that word, chewing on his bottom lip as he sat on the edge of his bed, gently swinging his feet to and fro. The memories...there had been something in the memories that he had come across during his time in the code vault. A tiny, seemingly irrelevant piece of information that he had paid little thought to at the time...something that connected the two banes of his existence.

A hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth, his perfect white teeth slowly appearing as it spread across his face. His eyes twinkled with devious glee as he slid off the bed, and with a skip in his step, he exited his private chambers.

"Oh Sthour Bill?" he called out in a cheerful tone. "Yoohoo, where are you?"

The always surly and ironically themed assistant (really, whose idea was it to put a _sour_ piece of candy in a sugary game?) tottered up to him, wearing his usual morose expression that suggested he'd rather be dipped in honey and sacrificed to sugar ants than have to carry out his duties. "Yes, sire?"

It was all the king could do to keep from snorting a laugh while maintaining his jolly visage. "Could you sthummon Missth Muttonfudge to the throne room pleasthe? I have a little..._favor_ to asthk..."

* * *

Taffyta, her ever-present lollipop positioned at a sideways angle in her mouth, paraded her way knowingly down the length of the royal corridor towards the throne. She had done this many times over the last fifteen years, and she knew every inch of this room like the back of her hand. A sense of shameless pride welled up in her as she spotted her king just ahead, having just arrived home from the daily roster race, one that he had taken first place in. She felt honored to be serving under the reign of such a great, renowned racer such as King Candy. Even better, she reveled in the fact that he had doted on her more than the others, rewarding her with little trinkets or an extra bag of candy at the end of the day.

Oh, she was his favorite, she _knew_ she was. Why else would he consistently call upon her to carry out the important task of making sure that the horrible, nasty _glitch_ never showed her face at the races? Taffyta hated the glitch as much as the king did, surely; who did that girl think she was, always trying to steal a gold coin or spare parts from the the junkyard? Did she really think that she could be one of _them_? It was appalling that the dirty-haired _mistake_ would so boldly try and get their game unplugged, which is what everyone knew would happen if she ever actually got into a roster race and _placed_.

We couldn't have that, could we?

"Nice racing today, your highness," Taffyta quipped to him as she approached closer, taking her lollipop out of her mouth and watching him back up into his creative parking spot that doubled as a throne. "Though I would have beat you if you hadn't been so lucky as to get a Sweet Seekers right at the end of the final lap."

King Candy removed his goggles from his head and placed them atop of his helmet for the time being, stepping out of his kart and hopping down to be at her level. "Hoohoo, you keep telling yoursthelf that, my dear, if it makesth you feel better about your lossth."

She rolled her eyes in a playful manner, knowing that he was only joking with her. "_Anyway_, so I forgot to tell you that I saw the glitch earlier near the race."

The elderly monarch gasped, holding his hands to his heart and his large, expressive eyes filled with sudden worry. "Oh, she didn't sthabotage anyone'sth kart, did she? If that'sth the casthe, we'd have to have _another _racthe!" He dropped the worried look to chuckle a bit to himself, waggling his fingers almost excitedly. "Not that I have a problem racthing _again_!"

Taffyta chuckled girlishly at him, twirling her lollipop stick between her thumb and pointer. "No, no, nothing like _that_. I think she was just wanting to watch, but don't worry. I spotted her right before you even showed up, and she saw _me_ and tried to run, but I went after her." She paused to take a lick of sucker, looking deep in thought. "Let's just say, _Vanell_ope looks really good after getting dunked in _vanilla_ pudding."

King Candy's face brightened into a smile before a series of his usual laughter came out. It was such an infectious chortle that Taffyta couldn't help herself but to join him. Being the one that could bring a smile to their beloved king's face gave her a feeling of incomparable satisfaction. He patted her on the shoulder and wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling lightly to himself.

"You have no idea how happy it makesth me that you are stho devoted to protecting thisth game from that little monsthter," he told her sincerely as he steered her back towards the front door. "Now, you run along and have fun with your friendsth, I'm going to take an afternoon nap."

Taffyta snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes up, a smirk planted on her face. "Wow, pops, gotta take naps now? Tsk tsk, better watch it tomorrow on the track if that's the case."

She bid him adieu and went on out her way, giggling quietly when she could hear the older man still laughing behind her. Yes, she was definitely his favorite. No one else ever could put him in a such a good mood, even if all she had done was report her glitch-abuse for the day.

* * *

Fifteen years.

It was hard to believe that he had been here fifteen years in _Sugar Rush_, and not a soul even suspected him of who he _really _was. His game had improved greatly since he had first come here; he could easily maneuver around the various obstacles, handle his power ups with expertise, and jump his kart the farthest when it came time to soar in the air to avoid falling into the randomly placed pits along track.

Yet nothing brought him more pleasure in knowing that he had orchestrated a senseless rivalry based on unfounded hatred between two little girls that he himself loathed and despised.

He laughed himself all the way to his chambers after Taffyta had made her exit, shutting the door and pouncing on his bed before hugging a marshmallow pillow to his chest. Gleeful giggles escaped his throat, his legs kicking out wildly, literally tickled at the idea that he could be so cruel. He had to congratulate himself on having successfully pulled off such a devious plot.

"Hoohoohoo, oh, little Taffyta," he muttered to himself after he had finally calmed himself down enough to lie still on the bed, looking up at the canopy draped above him. "If you only knew...hoohoo, you would never be able forgive yoursthelf." His lazy smile faded, his expression forming one that was much more sinister in tone. "But it'sth what you get for alwaysth getting in my way on the track. It'sth what you _both_ get for being thornsth in my sthide."

Poor little Taffyta, always thinking that she was the king's favorite. If she only knew that the little girl that she bullied everyday had once been her very best friend, and it gave her 'beloved' king that she served so blindly immense pleasure in witnessing the destruction of their once pure and innocent friendship, every night cackling to himself that only he knew the secret.

It was the perfect revenge against them both. Taffyta punished Vanellope for simply existing...and King Candy in turn punished Taffyta of her 'crime' of being his racing equal by having her unknowingly abuse the girl she once upon a time had called her sister. He had them doing his own dirty work, hurting the both of them in the most personal way possible without even lifting a finger.

What she doesn't know, won't hurt her...that is, until the day that she _does _know. And if that day ever were to come, it would be then that his scheme of vengeance against the strawberry-themed girl would be complete.

"Until then, girls," the king muttered to himself, a sly smile gracing his features as he imagined the future heartache between the two unsuspecting children, "_stay sweet_."


End file.
